Good to have winning habit: Virat Kohli

Winning is “contagious” and Indian Test captain Virat Kohli feels that it is a “good habit” that his boys can create in order to become a formidable Test team anywhere in the world.

India trounced West Indies by an innings and 92 runs well inside four days in the first cricket Test of the four-match series.

“We want to create winning habits, good habits. And you know, winning is contagious. If we learn to win Test matches, then we’ll learn how to win Tests everywhere. We will learn how to play in different situations and we will know exactly what to do when a certain situation is going a certain way,” Kohli told mediapersons after a thumping victory against the hosts.

“We want to be consistent side, we need to set ourselves goals and look to execute that rather than looking at the opposition which I think this team is willing to do,” said Kohli after the win. “That for me is a very pleasing thing as a captain and for the team as well. Everyone understands the way we want to play on the field — where we need to bat, how we need to bowl, etc. We need to be comfortable with what the team requires and I think that’s the most important for this team going forward.”

It was an all-round effort from the bowlers with pacers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav snaring eight scalps among themselves in the first innings and premier spinner R. Ashwin with his 7/83 singlehandedly decimating the opposition in the second innings. “It was a very good effort from the bowlers. The good thing was that we did not bowl that much in the first innings, so everyone’s mindset in the second innings was, yes, we can bowl again. I think the first innings ended at a perfect time for us last evening, and then we got 13-14 overs and got a wicket again.”